1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for registering an interest in a subject having dynamically changing characteristics and receiving updates therefor, and in one embodiment, a method and system for registering for updates to an auction item or category in which a consumer has expressed an interest.
2. Discussion of the Background
Various on-line auction systems, such as Wanadoo, uBid and eBay™, support web-based auction systems that enable consumers to bid on items put-up for auction. In such systems, potential purchasers visit a web site and place bids on items of interest. Periodically users check back to see if they are still the highest bidder, and if not, may increase their bid if they want to outbid the current highest bidder. However, such a mechanism is cumbersome in that it is up to the user to determine when they are no longer the highest bidder.
As described in Chapter 7 of mobile messaging: technologies and services: SMS, EMS and MMS, by Le Bodic, ISBN 0-470-84876-6 (2003), incorporated herein by reference, another recently developed technology is Immediate Messaging and Presence Services (IMPS) (proposed by Wireless Village) which includes Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol (IMPP) and variants such as APEX, PRIM, SIP/SIMPLE, XMPP, AOL IM, AIM, Yahoo, Wanadoo & MSN Messenger. Using IMPS technology, people can sign up to send messages to other participants on a list of known participants (or buddies). People can be added to conversations by selecting their corresponding name(s), email address(es) or instant messaging address(es) from a list or via manually inputting the appropriate information. Such addresses are generally considered to be references to people and are thus valid for a long period of time and may be considered persistent identifiers (as opposed to transient identifiers). IMPS technology has been the subject of various Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) publications including, but not limited to: Common Presence and Instant Messaging: Message Format, Presence Information Data Format (PIDF), Address Resolution for Instant Messaging and Presence, Common Profile for Presence (CPP), Common Profile for Instant Messaging (CPIM), as well as several Requests for Comments, including: A Model for Presence and Instant Messaging (RFC 2778), Instant Messaging/Presence Protocol Requirements (RFC 2779), and Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps (RFC 3339). The contents of each of those IETF publications and RFCs is incorporated herein by reference. As used herein, “Immediate Messaging and Presence Services communications protocols” or “IMPS communications protocols” will be used to collectively refer to the communications protocols described above.